Chapter 1

“Welcome to a special edition of National Sports Network’s OHL Friday Night Hockey on this Saturday afternoon. Hi, I’m your host Ken Morrison, along again with play-by-play announcer Mark Bailey and colour commentator Jim Turner from Bellville, Ontario, home to the Belleville Falcons.”

“The fans must want to see more from the Falcons, like last night’s performance, because this game is also sold out.”

“If you didn’t see our coverage last night of the Falcons wild battle against the league-leading Kingston Frontenacs, then you’ll be able to see part two this afternoon. Last night’s game was a record-setter for the Belleville Falcons.”

“I’ll ask Graham, our cameraman, to pan in for a close-up view of this sheet of paper I’m holding. This is a copy of the official computerized game sheet that the off-ice officials submit to the League at the conclusion of each game. As the camera pans from top to bottom, can you notice anything unusual?”

“Each team’s players are listed by their number, from lowest to highest. For Belleville, you notice that number 2, Justin Long, had an assist, as did number 4, Rayous Grobenov, and also number 6, PK Subban. In fact, as you look down the list, CHL history was made because every player on the Falcons roster in last night’s game had at least a point, including both goalies.”

“No team has ever accomplished that feat, and likely no professional hockey team in North America or Europe has either accomplished it or will repeat it. I’ll draw your attention to number 27, Brad Hayward. And yes, it is true; the figures have been verified by the CHL. Brad Hayward scored a record-setting thirteen points, nine, yes, nine goals, three hat tricks, and four assists, leading the Belleville Falcons over the Kingston Frontenacs 13 to 7.”

“Mark and Jim, watching the replays of Brad Hayward’s historic night is enough to give any avid hockey fan chills of excitement. It reminds me of Darryl Sittler’s epic night with the Toronto Maple Leafs so many years ago.”

“Thank you, Ken. Yes, it was indeed a monumental game for Brad Hayward and the Belleville Falcons. As we see a replay of his goals and assists, Jim, for our viewers, what do you make of this rookie wonderboy?”

“You’ve heard of the phrase perfect timing. It couldn’t be truer for Brad Hayward than last night. You wouldn’t know that he spent the past several weeks recovering from cracked ribs caused by a hard body check from Peter Kendall of the Frontenacs. So he was hungry to finally experience his first game action. Maybe his three-game stint as co-coach of the Bellville Falcons gave him an insight into team management that not too many players experience, which contributed to his stellar play.”

“Perhaps the Falcons sitting in last place and playing the number one team in the league and rated first in the CHL was their inspiration to play such a commanding game. Or maybe that Brad Hayward has several seasons of experience playing with Mike Johnson and Scott Warren and against Jake Campbell during their Midget years.”

“Over the years in Junior or the Pros, a player will look back on one particular game as his best. It’ll be difficult for Harward to surpass his record-setting mark last night.”

“Mark, what will Kingston have to do to contain Hayward?”

“Coach Green knows one player doesn’t make a whole team, but I’m sure he’s told his players to keep a closer eye on him. Only time will tell if Hayward’s game last night was an aberration or if he is one of those players that can, game in and game out, put points on the board.”

The camera returned to Ken. “Before the players arrived at this afternoon’s game, I was able to interview Frank Stanton, Coach of the Belleville Falcons.”

“Coach, your team handily knocked off the League-leading Kingston Frontenacs. What do you contribute to such a lopsided victory?”

“Last night’s game was one of those freak games when most any shot taken on goal resulted in a goal. It was a nightmare for our coaching staff because the players drifted away from the game plan, and we ended up adjusting to the play of the game. Shoot the puck from anywhere, I told my players. Our goaltending was inconsistent, and our players didn’t support them.”

“Did you know your team set several League records last night?”

“I found out this morning that both our goalies got assists in the game and that every player had at least one point,” Frank said.

“We’d like to know your comments about Brad Hayward’s record-setting performance last night.”

“One game doesn’t make a player, but we knew Brad has great potential; that’s why we traded to draft him. His dad, Dan Hayward, played Junior hockey when he was a teen and passed on many words of wisdom and experience to him.”

“Brad is a good, two-way player who took advantage of his opportunities. Certainly more than any of us ever expected, but in the long run, we gained two valuable points in the standings.”

“Thank you, Coach, and good luck in tonight’s game. And Mark Adams is out of tonight’s game with a lower body injury. Jim and Mark, what can we expect from Hayward in today’s game?”

“Hayward will certainly be a marked player for Kingston. They’ll have to keep in mind, as they attempt to corral this budding star, that they don’t lose focus on the remaining players or take needless penalties,” Jim stated.

“Fans are still anticipating a tangle between Hayward and Pete Kendall of Kingston over the dirty hit that put Hayward in the hospital,” Mark added.

Dan and his family took their seats behind the Falcons’ bench, with Scott and Vicky behind Peter’s bench.

The coaches prepared their players for the game, stressing more defensive play. After the warm-up, Brad picked up the milk carton to retrieve the practice pucks from the net. “We’ve got this, Coach,” Jake reminded him. Brad and Pete met by the boards at center ice, shook hands, and returned to their dressing rooms.

The Kingston starting lineup was announced, and then the spotlight shone on the Falcons’ end of the ice.

“And now, for the starting line-up for your Belleville Falcons!” The announcer bellowed. “Starting in goal, number 30, Jason Bennett!” The fans cheered and clapped for each player mentioned. “On left defence, number 19 Mario Giroux; on right defence, number 4 Rayous Grobenov; on left wing, number 16 Jake Campbell; at center, number 10 Mike Johnson; and on right wing, number 27 Brad Hayward!”

“It was good of Coach Stanton to recognize the hard work of Brad Hayward by letting his line start the game,” Mark mentioned to Jim over the loud cheers and applause for Brad and the others.

The anthem was sung, and anticipation grew among the fans in the capacity-filled arena. The players stood, ready for the start of the game. The ref dropped the puck, and the game was on!

Mike won the face-off, passing the puck back to Mario. Immediately pressured by the Kingston winger, he carried the puck over the centerline, then passed it back to Mike. He shot it at Brad as he crossed the blue line, and already fans were standing in anticipation. He fired a shot on the net, hoping for a rebound to Jake, but Manning easily stopped it and held the puck for a whistle.

Play resumed from the face-off, with Kingston carrying the play into Belleville’s end. Tyler Reese let go of a good, hard shot, which Jason stopped and held for a face-off. The next line of Falcons came over the board for a player change.

“Hey, at least we didn’t get scored on during the first shift!” Brad joked. He and his linemates rested, watching the play go back and forth. After five minutes, there was no score, and it was evident this would be a different game than last night.

Kingston played hard against Belleville, and the Falcons met every challenge. The high-paced tempo was set by Kingston from the start of the game. Every bodycheck by a Falcons player crashed against the boards and rattled the glass, much to the enjoyment of the young fans seated at ice level.

Soon, Nick Upton took a penalty for elbowing on a hard hit to a Frontenac player. Kingston pressed hard, having the best power play in the League, but Jason made several excellent stops. Inspired by their goalie’s strong play, Belleville kept their opponent’s chances to a minimum through the last seconds of the penalty.

As the penalty was ending and Nick stepped out of the penalty box, Brad and Jake were taking their shift on the ice. Logan passed the puck to Nick, who’d snuck behind the Frontenac’s defence. He was joined by Brad and Jake. They made a nice three-way passing play into the Kingston zone, keeping the puck from the two defenceman

Nick, Brad, and Jake started a cycle of puck possession to the left of Manning. As Nick was being checked, he passed the puck to Brad. He fed a quick pass to Jake, and a quick wrister evaded Manning for the first goal of the game. The fans erupted as their team took the lead. The score was 1 to 0.

“Jake scored! Jake scored!” Abby shrieked, and she and Wendy hugged.

“It appears Brad Hayward and the Falcons are continuing where they left off from last night. They executed the cycle perfectly until one of them was open near the net,” Jim observed.

The Falcons congratulated each other and then gave glove taps to their players on the bench. “Way to dig down low and cycle that puck!” Coach Stanton praised them.

“Falcon’s goal, his eighth of the season, scored by number 16 Jake Campbell, assisted by number 27, Brad Hayward, and number 29, Nick Upton, time 8:42!” Was announced, and the fans cheered.

The ref dropped the puck to resume play, with both teams battling hard. Kingston pressed for puck control in Belleville’s end and, a minute later, tied the score.

“Jim, we just might end up with another high-scoring game after all,” Mark commented.

The play continued with the coaches matching line against line. Dale Corbett’s determined effort proved why he is a leader on the team, and scored the next goal for the Falcons from Nick and Scott Warren. Brad had been involved in the last fourteen goals scored by the Falcons.

Brad, Mike, and Jake played well together, along with the defensive pair of Mario and Rayous. They were a good match against the Kingston line of Ken Goodall, 23, right-wing, Greg Jackson, 12, center, Matt Crawford, 16, left-wing, Jamie Lawson, 17, right defence; and Pete Kendall, 14, left defence.

They kept the Frontenacs hemmed in their zone as Mario and Rayous passed the puck back and forth as the forwards jockeyed for a position by the net. Mario took another pass from Rayous and, seeing an opening, let go of a hard slap shot. The puck rebounded off Manning’s pad to Brad, and he quickly shot the loose puck into the net.